Clark's Pet Emporium Ball Python Care Sheet

Clark's Pet Emporium has taken pride in sharing quality pets with our community for over 40 years. Now you can give your pet the very best care, from our home to yours, with Clark's Care Sheets.

The Ball Python care sheet will provide you with basic knowledge to begin your new life with a snake, ranging from diet to habitat and snake husbandry. For further details regarding specific care, please contact Species - Ball (Royal) Python Clark's with your questions and concerns. Color - Classic, Normal

Is a Python the right pet for you? Shopping Check-List: Please take a moment to ask yourself the following questions: • Ball Python book / reading material • Appropriate sized enclosure, • Do you have adequate space to house a terrarium, or aquarium properly constructed and secured python enclosure? • Enclosure substrate / bedding • Are you prepared to offer your Ball • Appropriate heat source (basking Python the food it will need? Food items light or tropical heat pad) will consist of live or frozen rodents, • Appropriate size hide (cave, tunnel, sometimes baby rodents that can be bark, or decorations) to make the emotionally difficult to feed to another animal feel less exposed animal! • Water bowl and bathing container • Are you willing to make considerable investment in the special lighting, • Water sprayer, humidifier, or fogger housing, and heating requirements of your reptile? • Diet - Live or frozen/pre-killed rodents of the appropriate size • Does your lifestyle support the fact that this pet will be a part of your family for • Reptile-safe cleaning supplies the next 20-50 years? The current longest recorded lifespan of any snake in captivity belongs to a Ball Python (NERD Herpetocultural Library, 2009), making this decision a serious commitment!

If you answered "yes!" to ALL of these questions, read through the rest of this care sheet and visit your Color Morph - favorite Clark's location to inquire about adopting a Ball Python! Piebald

Clark's Pet Emporium, 2014 Dietary Needs:

• Ball Pythons exclusively eat rodents. Safety Tips: Rats are a superior source of Ball Pythons, like all reptiles, carry nutrition over mice, providing more the salmonella bacteria. It has the protein, less fat potential to make people, especially children, very sick! Handle your • As a safer alternative to live food, python regularly, but ALWAYS pre-killed frozen rodents can be disinfect your hands and surfaces in thawed and fed contact with the reptile afterward!

• The thickness of the rodent should Ball Python - Spider Morph Do not put rocks or sticks found in be equal to the largest diameter of your yard directly into your pet's the snake's body. Pythons can easily enclosure! You may inadvertently unhinge their jaw bones to swallow introduce insects, parasites, fungus, food larger than their mouth bacteria, or toxins into your reptile's appears! habitat! • Never feed wild rodents to your Never place the enclosure in direct python! These animals can carry sunlight. Glass allows light in, but diseases or may have come into Housing: traps all heat from escaping. This contact with toxins may lead to dangerously high temperatures for your reptile! • Fresh, cool water available at all • Young Ball Pythons under 2' can times to soak and drink be housed in a 20 gallon Always supervise a reptile outside terrarium. Larger Pythons will its enclosure! They can easily slip require a minimum of 40 away in seconds and may never be gallons. It is recommended to found, especially snakes! Feeding Practice: house Ball Pythons individually

• It is recommended to place your • All snakes are adept escape python in a large plastic tub separate artists! Any access points must Heating and Lighting from their housing for feeding - this be securely locked, leaving no practice reduces the chance that your gaps python associates your handling with food! • High humidity is necessary for • Lights should be kept on a 12 hour Ball Pythons to shed properly. night/day cycle. A proper day and • Once the rodent is consumed, allow Use coconut fiber, bark, and night cycle is essential for Ball 20 minutes for the python's feeding moss as substrate to retain Python behavior and health response to turn off before returning moisture. Spray the enclosure it to the enclosure as needed to maintain at least • Ambient enclosure temperature 50-70% humidity at all times should be 80°-85°F with a basking • If feeding live rodents, NEVER leave temperature of 90°-95°F. Night the snake unattended - rodents can time temperatures can safely drop defend themselves and have been • Provide a water source large known to mangle or kill Ball Pythons! enough for the entire python to to 72°-78°F. bathe in • Ball Pythons under 4 years old • Heat sources should be placed to should be fed once every 7 days. • Offer a hide large enough for the one end of the habitat, allowing Once a Ball Python is over 4 years entire python to fit inside. for a steady gradient from hot to old, feedings can be reduced to once Branches and decorations can cool every 14 days as their metabolism also be provided for climbing slows down • If temperatures are difficult to • The layout of the enclosure maintain, consider supplementing • Ball Pythons can sometimes refuse should allow for a warm area on your heat source with an infrared food for long periods of time. If your one side, a cool area with water bulb that can be left on python begins to lose weight, it may permanently be time for a veterinarian visit to on the opposite side, and a check for illnesses neutral temperature gradient across the middle • UVB lighting is not necessary for these nocturnal creatures, as they have adapted to a lifestyle of staying out of direct sunlight, but new research shows that the Cleaning and inclusion of UVB lighting may benefit Ball Python temperament, Maintenance: growth, and color

• Routinely remove soiled substrate and water immediately. Replace all substrate once per month • The high humidity of the enclosure may lead to mold growth. Be sure to immediately clean out any fungus or mold. Try spraying less water, but more frequently to avoid soaking the substrate Clark's Pet Emporium • Never use harsh household Clark's Pet Supply 4914 Lomas Blvd NE, chemicals in a reptile enclosure. A pet-safe cleaner or 50/50 mix of 11200 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM, 87110 water and vinegar can safely NM, 87112 clean the habitat and loosen Phone: (505)-268-5977 water mineral deposits on glass Phone: (505)-292-6288 Fax: (505)-266-2306 Fax: (505)-292-0962